A New Song, An old Post

I wrote this shortly after returning to Chad in March 2018....I forgot about it and found it the other day when I was looking through some of my blog drafts. Reading this over, challenged me again to continue pressing on in this journey called Life.

"Sing to the Lord a new song"...Psalm 98:1

The word 'song' has been coming up lately in my devotions...just the other day I read (paraphrase) "He is my strength and my song"....and I was inspired and encouraged and reminded of where I can find that kind of refreshment and inspiration. When I think of 'song' I think of joy (dancing to the beat!), telling a story, emotions, passion, and a way to express yourself. Our lives too, can be a song for God.

Getting used to wearing skirts and headscarves in Chad.

The Psalmist was encouraging us that as the waves of change come and go, doors close and new ones open...in those seasons of starting over, that is our chance to begin something new with God in our lives as well. To 'sing a new song' is to take advantage of the blank canvas before you (a new day, a new place, a new ministry, new ideas, new focus etc) and re-dedicate your daily life to the Lord...and together, write a new song that gives Him glory, that tells His story, that worships Him, that tells of His faithfulness and provision through life's sunny and stormy days...and have that joy in your heart that comes when you 'sing'!

As we begin our next two year term in Chad, I am inspired to sing a new song...it is a fresh start, journeying together with the Lord, waiting to see what He has in store for our family. We are different people than when we first arrived on Chadian soil in 2013....since then, we've had major ups and downs, unexpected detours, lots of life lessons learned (we are still learning them!) but as a result, we know ourselves more deeply, our Saviour has proven Himself time and time again over the years which has increased our faith, and we have more life experience to guide us as we live out our ministry and family life. We feel better equipped to undertake these next two years in Chad with purpose and joy.

So, I'm excited to continue on this journey of learning, serving, loving and living in this dusty and hot Saharan country. I wonder what the lyrics to this new song will be....

Happy 10th Birthday Lily!

This was a big one you said..."I'm now two digits Mom!!". Yes, you really are 10 years old! You have sprouted up like a weed this past year lily...I randomly will be looking at you and think 'Wow! She is getting so tall!". Despite your change in height, your personality remains the same...you make us laugh alot Lily! I know you get your inspiration for your story narratives from Calvin and Hobbs and it comes out in how you retell a story or a funny comment in a conversation. You love to make people laugh! You also like to be alone, to read and to journal or write stories. Kaitlyn just doesn't understand why (she is such an extrovert) but you somehow manage to manage your time well and play a ton with Kaitlyn but also sneak away for some reading/alone time. You are a friend to all Lily...not so much connected to one best friend, but you play with lots of different kids at school...but you do like having Esther H in your class and have had several play dates with her. Grade 4 was intimidating for you...especially with a teacher change mid-way through the year but you faced your fears, didn't quit and discovered that it was actually ok.
This year has been HUGE for you Lily...you have struggled with anxiety for many years...and it would often keep you from participating in fun things or being yourself in a group setting. On a recommendation from a friend of mine, we purchased a program designed to help kids find freedom from their fears. You launched into that program and never looked back...conquering your fears and anxieties that were holding you back. The other day you said to me, "Mom, I think I'm over that'. What a huge answer to prayer! I know that it may be a lifelong battle you have to face but now you have the tools to 'talk back' to that voice that is trying to create fear and worry where there is none! I am beyond proud of you Lily. You have shown such emotional maturity and intuitiveness as you have continued on this journey from fear to freedom. We will continue to pray about that for you.

Here are some things that I want to remember about you when you were 10:

You are 10 now!!!

-The pink blankie is going strong but your new thing is to fluff it into a circle shape on your pillow and lay your head down into it
-Your favorite book is Call of the Wild...but you also have a whole bunch of other favorites too!
-You love collecting little metal animals (you have a turtle from Egypt and a snake from Chad)
-You still gallop around like a horse but less often...claiming that your shoulders were starting to hurt (perhaps growing out of being able to do that?)
-You think school is a breeze...except for Math and Grammar (although you do well in those too)
-You are the LOUDEST person in the pool....the whole neighbourhood can hear you shriek!
-You are still so skinny minny...gotta fatten you up Lily!
-You love toast with butter and strawberry Jam, and you chose Lasagna for your birthday meal
-You have an old ipod of ours and you love wearing your comfy headphones (Christmas present!) and listening to calming music while going to sleep
-You LOVE to read before going to bed...it's always a struggle to get you to turn out your light!
-You enjoy horse back riding but I think you are just as happy playing around in the sand pile or visiting the baby turtles
-You know where to turn to when you are worried or stressed...you have some verses memorized that remind you to lean hard in God when life seems overwhelming or unfair.
-You love playing with Kaitlyn...she is your best friend. She knows you so well....you can be yourself with her and she gets you.
-You love spending one on one time with daddy or myself. One of your love languages is quality time so we try to make those individual hangout times happen regularly. Room dates are fun and low key...a special drink (tea or coke) and a plate of snacks (chips or cookies) and some games or coloring to do with some candles of course. I really do like that.
-You are counting down the days til school is over! Not that you don't like school....but you would rather homeschool and you just love being at home. One of your favorite things to do on a weekend is...nothing!! No going out, or entertaining...just playing, reading, eating, games etc. Nothing scheduled but a very relaxed pace. We try to make that happen but life gets busy...especially on the weekends when daddy is home.
-You chose to go to the Hilton this year for your birthday, to swim and have a meal by the pool and you brought your friend Esther with you. We had a GREAT day! It was hot as blazes so we were in the pool most of the day. Fun!
-We are bringing a cake to share with your friends at school after the school holidays....it's going to be a book cake (a stack of different colored books). Something you LOVE!

-You LOVED Egypt (the unlimited french fries and pop and your 6 course breakfasts each morning!) and can't wait to head back as soon as school gets out! I can't wait either!

Date with mom...quiche and hot chocolate!

-You play a lot more inside these days (the heat??) but are still up for a game of house, or puppy or a trampoline game or swimming or skipping or recently, riding your bike over a ramp you made! Evie just LOVES playing with you (so does Bethan...a girl living across the compound from us)....you are up for anything Lily.
-You enjoy writing poetry (you have a little book that you keep your poems in) and stories...your narrative is hilarious. Very Calvin and Hobbs esque. I wonder if you are going to write a book one day?
-You and Kaitlyn spend hours setting up your playmobil sets or building lego houses and then acting out the scene. I just love watching you create and imagine!
-You love friday night movie night...it has been consistently part of our week for several years now...a great way to start the weekend. You are usually up for anything...whether it's a cartoon or one with real-life actors.
-You are a chatterbox....at bedtime! As the lights are going out, then out comes all your stories and thoughts from the day...love hearing about them though but we need to account for this time and start your bedtime process sooner....not good to stay up til 9pm or later on a school night!
-You learned to play the piano last summer (the basics) and have recently been practising again. We are hoping to continue the lessons in the summer. You are good at it and enjoy hearing success as you play a song without stopping!
-We have a little notebook that we write little notes back and forth to each other when we feel like it. I always smile when I see the pink notebook on my pillow...

You LOVE to ride on Dad's motorcycle!

Animal lover...you adored these puppies at the horse farm.

Very Chadian of you...

The Birthday Party Crew!

Hilton swim up bar....you ordered a glass of ice! Haha!

We love you a lot Lily. You are your own person Lily...quirks and 'that's just Lily' moments. I can see how you have matured and grown, not only in your character but in your faith as well. We are blessed to walk beside you as you continue to figure out who you are and what plans God has for your life. You are full of energy (more so at bedtime??!!) and joy and laughter and fun follows you wherever you go. Keep on smiling Lily! xoxo

Happy very, very belated 4th Birthday Evie!!

It has taken me a while to put this post together...8 months to be exact...haha! Better late than never...

Evelinne Rose...is 4!!!! Wow!!! She has been practising for the last week how to hold up just 4 fingers (that thumb is tricky to hold down!) and scratching off a number on her birthday countdown calendar since early July!! Months of planning her birthday cake (rainbow theme) and talking about who she wants to invite and where she wants to go (the Hilton Hotel for a swim and some pool-side fries to eat). So, she is beyond excited that her birthday has finally arrived!
Kaitlyn and Lily decorated until way past their bedtime the night before and made the place look super fun (I managed to find some rainbow balloons at a store here and I had brought some streamers from Canada) complete with a nice arrangement of gifts with fun wrapping paper and our favourite colour (turquoise blue) gift bags with little treasures that Evie will like!
Evie is our baby...our little one who is growing up! Some days I tell her to stop growing up so fast and other days I wish she would just grow up!! :) We love that we have 3 girls and couldn't imagine our family without Evie. Here are some things that I want to remember about her at this age:

- Loves her blankie still (the tag is her favourite) and will bunch it up when in bed and squeeze it
- Has a slight obsession with me...wants me to do everything with her...including bedtime, sitting beside her at dinner, pushing her on the swing, reading her books, playing with her (and no one else will do most of the time)

The birthday girl and her spoils!

- She loves her squeezy pack and banana in bed routine with talking about good/bad of the day, praying and singing songs while I tickle her back...try to skip one of these things and she'll let you know!!
- She LOVES our cat whiskers and tries desperately to have him sit or sleep with her but he bolts as soon as he sees freedom...
-Evie learned how to ride a two wheeler again after a winter hiatus (when we were in Canada) and enjoyed pedalling like crazy around the compound....a persistent flat tire as hampered her biking joy but she is looking forward to riding again when we can locate a new inner tube (can't find that size in chad!!)

Pink mashed potatoes with a candle that won't blow out!

-Evie loves coke (I blame that on Phil!!), noodles, whole carrots, pink mashed potatoes (ever since we had that for valentines day...she has had a slight obsession!) and serving herself at the table
- As soon as she sees me in the kitchen she wants to 'help' (aka lick whatever yummy thing I am making)...her favourite thing to make with me are banana mini muffins and she is getting good at spooning the batter into the muffin tin
-She loves her friends here in Chad...Selina, Becca, Bethan, and Karis to name a few.

Evie with her favorite guy...and a chameleon.

-Evie loves playing house, barbies, playmobil, calico critters...and always wants me to play and make the characters 'talk'. Funny thing is, when I make them say things she says 'No! Don't say that...say this!....). I can never get it right apparently! :)
- She is my grocery shopping buddy and knows how to milk the system to get a free candy from the shop owners...she just stands on her tip toes, peers over the counter and stares at the candy box! Works like a charm!! Of course her cuteness helps her succeed too!
-Evie loves getting a 'ssant' (croissant) at the French bakery

Evie and her friend Merilee

-Hours upon hours of swinging on the swing....guess who is pushing her? :)
- Evie loves playing with her sisters...they are good sports and try to include her in their more sophisticated play...she does well (some of the time)
-Evie knows what she wants and doesn't like to hear the word 'No'. We are working on that one. :)
-Her favourite books that we read over and over are: Curious George goes to the hospital, Harry the dirty dog, Aunt Nina and her Nieces, Alfie gets in first, and Corduroy to name a few.
-She loves to wear dresses and skirts and when she wears shorts she says 'Mom, I look like a boy!" (women and girls don't wear shorts here so she equates them with men!)
-She gets dressed herself, and wants to do everything herself....brush her hair, teeth, and pour her own drinks, serve herself at dinner....all good practise...but with sometimes disastrous results (I don't like cleaning up messes!!!!)
-She loves to carry around a little notebook at draw "E's" or more recently, people (the kind that have their arms and legs coming out of their head...so cute!!)

Evie is full of life and she wants to be heard and in the middle of whatever is going on. We love her to bits and think she is super cute...which is good because she, more than Kaitlyn or Lily, has tried our patience and tested our resolve as parents. She is strong-willed and we have to daily remind her of 'who is in charge'....some days she thinks she is in charge! It has been encouraging to see her slowly learn what we expect of her and begin to make good choices in those moments. Some days we wonder if any of it is sinking in...but other days it all clicks and goes well. Lots to pray about...

Evie, I love you! I love your sweet around the neck hugs and the way you like to hold my hand when you go to sleep. I love that you want to sit beside me, play with me...do everything just with me (even if I sometimes don't appreciate it in the moment). I love your silliness when you try to be funny and you wrinkle up your nose and move your lips to the side...You are precious to me. We were just reading today in Psalm 139 :13-14

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

And we are so thankful that God made you just the way you are...and that He gave you to us. We love our Miss Evelinne Rose. Happy 4th!

Love Mom.

Practising to be a busy mom!

Friends are sooooo important to you!

Going for a walk...to buy some gum from the corner store

Your bestie....Selina

Happy (VERY Belated) 10th Birthday Kaitlyn!

Kaitlyn Elise. I cannot believe you are 10 now!!! Wow!! You have grown into such a beautiful girl...inside and out. You are a friendly, social girl who loves to have fun! As you grow, we are beginning to figure out where some of your passions lie and how you process things and how you handle conflict and what your love language(s) are. We are so proud of the way you have handled a tremendous amount of change in the last 5 years of your life...you have had your struggles...mostly with having to make new friends everywhere you go (missing your old ones and how much time it takes to make new, deep friendships) but you are resilient and haven't given up and continue to pour yourself into the relationships that you have made during our time back in Canada...despite knowing we will be heading back to Chad next year and you will have to say goodbye again. We love your outgoing nature, your sweet smile and funny antics. You are our first born and you play that role well in your interactions with your sisters...a friend to them but also you are a huge help to me in taking care of them..whether it's getting breakfast for Evie or helping her zip her zipper or reminding Lily of something...I really appreciate the help and we sure missed that and you when you went to camp for a week in July. We love that you are in our family...you are a joy!

Here are some things that we want to remember about you and what you did this year:

My beautiful Kaitlyn

-You had your first real paying job for 2 months this year....a paper route that you shared with Lily (and Evie...kind of). It was hard work (not what you expected) but you stuck with it despite asking us if you could put in your 'two weeks notice' after the first week of delivery! Haha!
-You really enjoyed horseback riding and were starting to get the hang of 'posting' and controlling the movement of the horse...you are looking forward to continuing to ride when we get back to Chad
-You enjoyed some extracurricular activities since arriving in Canada such as swimming lessons, gymnastics, and guitar lessons...
-You volunteered at Auntie Emmy's work: 10,000 Villages for an afternoon and you were super excited about getting to help at a REAL store!
-You got your ears pierced! After months of thinking it over, you finally committed and now one of your favourite things to buy are earrings! You got a gift certificate from Claire's for your birthday so I'm sure you will find some cute earrings to buy!
-You went to Beacon Bible Camp for a week this past summer....didn't know a soul there but off you went and had a great time! You were already talking about going back there next year!
- You took guitar lessons every other week, practised a bunch and had the amazing chance to play once a month in a kids worship band at church as well as play in the family Christmas Eve service.

Your love of horses shines through each week!

You LOVE playing in a band!

Candy bar is open!

Your bestie...and sister....!

Grandma's masterpiece...gymnastic/horse/guitar themed cake!

Henderson girls

This blog post was written a while ago and never finished but I will post it none the less as I want to remember the things I wrote down about Kaitlyn. I haven't even published her Happy 11th Birthday blog post yet!!! Time flies!